STREAMING LIVE: Cows on roadway on I-80 after livestock truck crashes near Joliet; eastbound lanes blocked

JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) — The eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 are blocked in Joliet, after a livestock truck crashed Tuesday afternoon, and a group of cows that was being hauled ended up roaming the expressway.

Illinois State Police said, around 3:40 p.m. troopers responded to a crash involving a cattle hauler on I-80 near Houbolt Road. Several cows ended up on the loose in the eastbound lanes.

CBS 2’s Kris Habermehl reports the cattle hauler collided with a second semi trailer truck, and was severely damaged in the crash, with the trailer ripped open, allowing cattle to roam onto the roadway. The damaged cattle hauler ended up in the center median after the crash.

It appeared several animals did not survive the crash and were thrown onto the road and median.

Others escaped and were held at bay in two separate pens made up of vehicles.

Police said all eastbound lanes of I-80 have been shut down from Houbolt Road to Larkin Avenue, and will be closed for an extended period of time.

Traffic in the westbound lanes also has been reduced to one lane at the scene of the crash, with traffic moving very slowly.

Several heavy tow trucks have responded to the scene to begin hauling away the damaged trucks once another cattle hauler can be brought in to haul away the surviving animals.

This is a developing story…